Weight Gain Not An Issue... When It's Muscle!

When I started this vegan weight lifting challenge over 13 weeks ago, I weighed about 192 pounds. Today, when I weighed myself, the scale read 204. Normally, this would be a time to panic and up the cardio, cut back on foods, etc. Except this time, I'm building muscle and I know that the weight gain is not because of extra fat.

For one thing, my waist size hasn't changed. Everything fits the same. The only way to know for sure is to get my body fat checked again. I had it checked a few weeks ago and found out the extra weight then was muscle. In anther few weeks, I will find out if the other extra weight is indeed muscle growth.

This is a whole new mind set for me. After losing 150 pounds, it took a while to get used to the fact that my weight has to go up for muscle growth. It does for every body builder, even vegan body builders.

I know I'm eating as clean as humanly possible. Lots of healthy vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds plus quinoa and oatmeal. No added sugars or processed foods, just lots of healthy foods.

I am trying not to weigh myself more than once a week now. No point stressing about it as long as my waist size stays the same.

About the author

Richard Hubbard has traveled a long road to achieve a healthy lifestyle in Torrington, CT. Rich was obese hitting over 345 pounds. He stopped weighing himself after that point so he's not sure how much his heaviest was. At the same time, his sister was suffering from a severe case of anorexia nervosa which eventually claimed her life. Rich wanted to avoid the obesity related illnesses that ran in his family. He has lost over 150 pounds and maintains a healthy weight for his height of 195 pounds.